The present invention relates to an electronic money transaction system for performing transactions by electrically transmitting and receiving electronic money information stored in an IC card in place of money, and more particularly, to an electronic money transaction system for transmitting and receiving the electronic money information by electromagnetic waves through space.
Hitherto, in a transaction system using electronic money for electrically transmitting and receiving electronic money information, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-92966, an individual as a payer (user) carrying an IC card (electronic wallet) in which electronic money information is stored visits a shop and transmits and receives the electronic money information by using a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal or the like installed at the shop. That is, when an individual wants to receive any service, the individual has to always insert the IC card into the POS terminal or the like to transfer the electronic money information.
As disclosed in the foregoing JP-A-3-92966 for example, the electronic money information is once stored in a terminal installed at a shop, and later, transmitted to an apparatus in a bank center via a communication channel. Consequently, it is necessary to connect communication channels to all of terminals installed at shops.
As mentioned above, in the conventional technique, it is necessary to insert the IC card into an insertion port of the terminal such as a POS terminal in order to transfer the electronic money information. It is, therefore, always necessary for the user to directly touch the terminal. For example, even the user inside a car wants to receive service, the insertion of the IC card into the terminal is still required.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to enable transactions of the electronic money information to be performed at a place away from the terminal.
In the conventional technique, it is necessary to provide a communication channel to every terminal in order to send the electronic money information once stored in the terminal to be collected later on, at an apparatus in a bank center or the like.
It is, therefore, another object of the invention to collect the electronic money information without providing the communication channel to every terminal.
Means of Solving the Problems
According to a fundamental feature of the invention, in order to achieve the objects, there is provided an electronic money terminal to be carried by the payer, which is constructed as a portable telephone terminal comprising, an electronic money information medium interface having functions of reading and writing information from/to an electronic money information medium, and a radio transmitter and receiver for radio telephone, wherein each time service is given by using service supply equipment, the service supply equipment and the payer to receive the service are discriminated and specified, and the electronic money information is transferred via the radio transmitter and receiver of the payer. As mentioned above, according to the invention, the electronic money information is transmitted and received between the payer""s terminal and the service provider via the radio transmitter and receiver. It is the point of the present invention how to accurately specify a one-to-one correspondence of the electronic money medium of the payer and service supply equipment.
As a radio transmitter and receiver for the radio telephone, that of a type limited to a relatively small area such as a PHS (Personal Handy-Phone System) is advantageous. By providing such radio telephone equipment near the service supply equipment, when the payer operates the portable telephone terminal to make an electronic money transaction, a display of the service supply equipment can be used as a part of an interactive means of a man-machine interface.
Upon transaction of the electronic money, not only the electronic money information but also particular number information of each portable telephone terminal is transmitted from the portable telephone terminal, thereby reducing burden on the payer in an interactive process with the man-machine interface.
Preferably, the electronic money information medium is an IC card.
According to the fundamental feature of the invention, the payer can pay a proper consideration without directly inserting the IC card into the service supply equipment and can receive corresponding service, and the electronic money transaction by radio can be realized.
According to another feature of the invention, in addition to the fundamental feature, there is provided a device for storing electronic money information in a lump in addition to the service supply equipment.
Consequently, the electronic money information can be directly transferred from the IC card to the storing device. It is therefore unnecessary to collect the electronic money information stored in terminals one by one. Further, by generating a signal specifying that the payer is the party to receive the service, the electronic money information from a plurality of terminals can be classified and stored, so that only one device for storing the electronic money information in a lump is necessary for the plurality of terminals. Consequently, there is no need to provide a communication channel to every terminal.
According to still another feature of the invention, there is provided a function of transmitting and receiving the electronic money information via space to/from the IC card of the payer.
According to the feature, it is also unnecessary to directly insert the IC card to the service supply equipment. Further, the IC card built in the terminal can generate the electronic money information only to a specific IC card, thereby enabling the electronic money information to be collected by transferring it between the terminals when the user carries the specific IC card. It is therefore unnecessary to provide a communication channel for collecting the electronic money information.
Features of the invention will be further described hereinbelow.
According to the invention, there is provided an electronic money transaction system comprising: an IC card storing electronic money information; a terminal for reading and writing the information of the IC card; a communicating means for transmitting and receiving electronic information from the terminal to/from the other; an electronic money storing means which can store at least electronic money in the electronic information transmitted and received via the communicating means; and service supply equipment operated by a signal sent from the electronic money storing means, wherein the communicating means connected to the terminal is used as a portable telephone terminal for transmitting and receiving electronic information to/from the outside by using electromagnetic waves and transactions of the electronic money are performed via the electromagnetic waves from the portable telephone terminal.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the electronic money storing means and the service supply equipment are separately provided, at least a signal instructing service supply is sent from the electronic money storing means to the service supply equipment and the service is supplied in accordance with the signal.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein an operator of the terminal performs an operation at least once to show desire of receiving the service from the service supply equipment before completion of the transaction of the electronic money.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein a display is provided and a display by which the operator performs the operation to show the desire of receiving the service is executed.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the display is provided at a position so that the operator to receive the service of the service supply equipment can easily discriminate the contents.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the terminal has an input means of a character string, a number, or a code, the character string, number, or code is displayed on the display, and the operator inputs the displayed character string, number, or code from the input means, thereby performing the operation to show the desire of receiving the service.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein after the operator performs the operation to show the desire of receiving the service, the electronic money storing means receives electronic information indicative of the operation via the communicating means, and the electronic money storing means generates a confirmation signal indicative of receipt of the electronic information indicative of the operation.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system further comprising a confirmation signal display means for displaying the confirmation signal showing the receipt of the electronic information indicative of the operation.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the confirmation signal display means is provided at a position so that the operator to receive the service by the service supply equipment can easily discriminate the contents.
According to the invention, there is provided an electronic money transaction system comprising: a first IC card storing electronic money information; a transmitter and receiver that is connected to the first IC card and transmits and receives the electronic money information via space; a second transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving the electronic money information via the transmitter and receiver; a terminal for controlling transfer of the electronic money information via the second transmitter and receiver; a connecting unit for passing the electronic money information from the terminal; and a second IC card which can record the electronic money information passed through the connecting unit, wherein the first IC card has a memory for storing electronic information indicative of the IC card, the electronic information in the memory can be transferred to the terminal via the transmitter and receiver and the second transmitter and receiver, the terminal has a passing means for transmitting the electronic information of the first IC card which passed the transmitter and receiver to the second IC card via the second transmitter and receiver and electronic information which is recorded in the second IC card to specify another IC card is compared with the electronic information sent from the first IC card, and when the electronic information sent from the first IC card and the electronic information recorded in the second IC card satisfies a certain condition, the electronic money information is transferred from the second IC card to the first IC card.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the electronic money information can be transferred from the first IC card to the second IC card irrespective of the result of the comparison of the electronic information sent from the first IC card with the electronic information recorded in the second IC card.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the electronic information sent from the first IC card is compared with the electronic information recorded in the second IC card by an information processing unit in an IC card for controlling the second IC card.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the portable telephone terminal has particular information, the particular information is sent from the portable telephone terminal, and the service supply equipment manages supply of service on the basis of the transmitted particular information.
According to the invention, there is provided the electronic money transaction system wherein the portable telephone terminal has particular information, the particular information is sent from the portable telephone terminal, the service supply equipment is provided with means for generating time information, there is provided time storing means for storing the particular information sent and the time information as an output from the time information generating means, and the service supply equipment records the information into the time storing means, thereby managing the service supply.
According to the invention, there is provided an electronic money transaction system comprising: a first IC card in which electronic money information is stored; a transmitter and receiver that is connected to the first IC card and transmits and receives the electronic money information via space; a second transmitter and receiver for transmitting and receiving the electronic money information via the transmitter and receiver; a terminal for controlling transfer of the electronic money information sent via the second transmitter and receiver; a connecting unit for passing the electronic money information from the terminal; and a second IC card which can record the electronic money information passed through the connecting unit, wherein the first IC card has a memory of electronic information indicative of the IC card, the electronic information in the memory can be transferred to the terminal via the transmitter and receiver and the second transmitter and receiver, the electronic information in the memory is a code which cannot be easily formed ordinarily, the terminal has a decoding and passing means for decoding the encoded electronic information of the first IC card passed through the transmitter and receiver and transmitting the decoded electronic information of the first IC card to the second IC card via the second transmitter and receiver, electronic information which is recorded in the second IC card to specify another IC card is compared with the electronic information sent from the first IC card, and when the electronic information sent from the first IC card and the electronic information recorded in the second IC card satisfies a certain condition, the electronic money information is transferred from the second IC card to the first IC card.
As mentioned above, according to the invention, the terminal carried by the user is provided with the radio transmitter and receiver to transfer the electronic money information via the radio transmitter and receiver, so that it is unnecessary to directly insert the IC card into the service supply equipment. By providing not only the service supply equipment but also the device for storing the electronic money information in a lump, the electronic money information is directly transferred to the storing device. It is therefore unnecessary to collect the electronic money information stored in the terminals one by one.
Further, by generating the signal specifying that the user is the party to receive the service, the electronic money information from a plurality of terminals can be classified and stored, so that only one device for storing the electronic money information in a lump is necessary for the plurality of terminals. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide the communication channel every terminal.
According to the invention, there is provided the function of transmitting and receiving the electronic money information via space to/from the IC card of the user. Consequently, it is unnecessary to directly insert the IC card to the service supply equipment. Further, by enabling the IC card built in the terminal to generate the electronic money information only to a specific IC card, when the specific IC card is carried, the electronic money information can be transferred between the terminals to collect money. It is, therefore, unnecessary to provide a communication channel for collecting the electronic money information.